-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The 2011 Arab uprisings presented the United States with a historic opportunity to take a clear stand on the side of freedom and democracy and strengthen its own standing in the process . Incredibly , the Obama administration has blundered and stumbled , with a response marked by timidity and caution .

As a result , America appears weaker , less influential and less trusted , while the Arab Middle East continues to seethe with instability and violence .

Today , as the Egyptian state shudders , with millions taking to the streets infuriated with a government that is taking the country down a path they do not trust , and as Syrians continue to slaughter each other , with death toll approaching 100,000 , there is no side in the conflicts that feels warmly toward America .

The most astonishing part is that the uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa were launched by young , progressive idealists , whose objective was to reshape their countries by overthrowing entrenched dictators and bringing pluralism and democracy .

The DNA of the revolution made it a natural for American support .

Granted , the uprisings also targeted strong American allies , such as Egypt 's now-deposed president , Hosni Mubarak . But once the dictator fell , America should have made a much stronger case for the fundamental principles of liberal democracy .

It is extraordinary this is happening under Obama , the leader who took the dramatic step of traveling to Cairo just months into his first term and delivering a landmark speech that vowed to end the `` cycle of suspicion and discord '' between Americans and Muslims , and affirmed his belief that all people `` yearn for certain things , '' including freedom , democracy , and genuine justice .

When the people took the reins of history into their own hands , Obama 's poetry crashed into geopolitical realities , not to mention domestic political considerations .

The choices , in fairness , were not easy . But Obama could have done much better .

Coup worsens Obama 's Egypt policy headache

In Egypt , the Muslim Brotherhood , a group with a deeply anti-Western , anti-American ideology , won the elections . Washington was right in trying to work with a government that had been elected by the Egyptian people . But it went too far , ignoring the fundamental principles of democracy that America should have kept at the forefront of the agenda .

Washington had to work with Cairo -- and hence , with the government of President Mohammed Morsy -- but it did n't have to keep as quiet as it did when Morsy and his supporters started pushing away from democratic principles , undermining freedoms and laying the groundwork for a state that would change the character of the country . The pan-Islamist vision of the Brotherhood is deeply offensive to supporters of equality for women , legal protections for minorities , free media , and respect for the views of the opposition .

Instead , in pursuit of stability , the U.S. held its tongue . Occasionally , American officials spoke out , as when the ambassador to Egypt , Anne Patterson , told a small group in Alexandria that `` democracy needs a healthy and active civil society . ''

But when the government went after that same civil society , arresting and then convicting 43 members of nongovernmental organizations -- including 16 Americans -- and sentencing them to prison terms on sham charges , the U.S. kept its voice low , to the dismay of its friends .

The Obama administration has been so timid , so eager to stay out of the fray , that a few weeks before the verdict against the pro-democracy activists , Secretary of State John Kerry passed up the opportunity to take a stand for the workers , and for democracy , by quietly waiving the human rights preconditions of U.S. aid to Egypt and thus allowing $ 1.3 billion in aid to go forward .

There were better ways to play that hand . America threw away its aces .

In Syria , the U.S. passed up for too long the opportunity to support the most liberal of rebels fighting against the dictator Bashar al-Assad , allowing extremist radicals to dominate the opposition . Now the choices are far more difficult , and America 's standing is in tatters with the people who should have been its natural allies .

The oversimplified equation says the country has to choose between its ideals and its interests . But in the case of the Arab uprisings , America 's ideals and interests overlap . If Washington stood more convincingly with those who share its ideals , it would strengthen them within their revolutions . It would help them to victory , and then America would become stronger , having real friends in power in the post-revolutionary Middle East .

It 's not too late for a course correction .

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Frida Ghitis .

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Frida Ghitis : The Arab uprisings gave the U.S. a historic chance to side with freedom

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Ghitis : Incredibly , the Obama administration 's response has been marked by timidity

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She says in pursuit of stability , the U.S. held its tongue as Egypt 's leader broke his words

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Ghitis : U.S. should side more with those who share its ideals and help them in revolutions